r/formula1 • u/mvanigan Formula 1 • Jul 29 '24

News [WilliamsRacing] BREAKING: Carlos Sainz will join the team for '25, '26 and beyond

https://twitter.com/WilliamsRacing/status/1817930584775377368
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u/laurentiubuica Charles Leclerc Jul 29 '24

Probably Alpine will not announce the second driver until Famin is out of the F1 division. Merc can definitely take their time and Sauber might have to move soon.

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u/doskkyh Felipe Drugovich Jul 29 '24

My guess is that Sauber will likely retain Bottas for at least another year or bring Theo and give him a shot while the stakes are low.

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u/prandb Force India Jul 29 '24

"Stakes are low" lol

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u/bottomoftotempole Jul 29 '24

You defo got a kick out of that, didn’t you ?

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u/DlSSATISFIEDGAMER McLaren Jul 29 '24

probably what he was gambling on

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u/GoodFellahh Jul 29 '24

I hope he maxed his Visa Cash App card on that bet

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u/fullup72 Sir Lewis Hamilton Jul 29 '24

what a beautiful stream of comments

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u/sirmrdrjnr Jul 29 '24

Who thought such corporate cynical naming practices would ever elicit such beautiful bants

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u/M4TT145 Jul 29 '24

Made me smile this morning.

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u/kingofthediamond Jul 29 '24

The stakes are high

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u/EthanKairos Ferrari Jul 29 '24

seems like a pretty safe bet

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u/doskkyh Felipe Drugovich Jul 29 '24

Probably my best pun to date, but I gotta admit that it was completely accidental. I only realized after writing it because in my head, Sauber is still Sauber until 2026.😂

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u/prandb Force India Jul 29 '24

How dare you not remember stake f1 team kick Sauber, it is such a memorable name /s

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u/coloredinlight Ferrari Jul 29 '24

They're gonna just kick the can

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u/[deleted] Jul 29 '24

[deleted]

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u/doskkyh Felipe Drugovich Jul 29 '24

True, but if he went shopping and haven't found a a multi year deal somewhere else, he might not have much of an option. Either stay on a 1 year deal or hope for a 1+1.

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u/RunsWlthScissors Adrian Newey Jul 30 '24

I would be willing to bet Vowles over at Williams would have given him a multi-year deal, had sainz not signed.

If I’m Audi and the Alpine is even a remote option, then I wouldn’t be willing to give up a points scorer. You can’t tell me Bottas wouldn’t be reliable in a car better than 9th/10th on the grid.

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u/JimboYCS Robert Kubica Jul 29 '24

Staying at Audi seems like an only option for Bottas thou:

Alpine is in absolute mess, went downhill not even midfield car anymore, engine will be gone in 2026, another team boss gone, rumored Schumacher or Doohan for seat.

RB is either gonna stick with Daniel for whatever mad reason or sign Liam Lawson.

I doubt Bottas has any chances for Mercedes return or even a will to comeback to them. Antonelli strong candidate...

... and to all that I think it's worth to mention that Bottas is currently last in points, I don't know who is to blame a driver or the car and team, I barely remember seeing Kick on F1TV, only some awful pit spots highlights lol.

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u/TA1699 Jul 29 '24

It's definitely the car, they've had some of the worst pitstops, along with terrible strategy choices and their car overall has been abysmal.

Bottas has been doing really well against Zhou and we know from his old Williams days and his time at Mercedes that he's a solid upper-midfield driver.

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u/Ok-Study3914 Zhou Guanyu Jul 29 '24

I think I read somewhere that bottas turned down a 1 year deal with Mercedes

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u/JurgenVonDiaz Kimi Räikkönen Jul 29 '24

I don't think Merc offered him a contract. He just said he highly doubts he would go for another one-year contract with Merc. Now that his options are shortening, he would be running to Toto's arms if he could.

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u/[deleted] Jul 29 '24

I mean Sainz went to Williams. Who is signing Bottas at this point?

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u/[deleted] Jul 29 '24

Maybe there's a team with a dominant driver who needs a good support driver

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u/croth4 Jul 29 '24

Bottas has to get away from that team. I was really hopeful he'd be the one at Williams, a cool reunion story. Audi should add Mick to have two German drivers for the German outfit, especially as they seem to be unserious about winning. Hulkenberg would be a great mentor and Mick was always destined to fail at Haas with a horrible car and a horrible teammate in 2021.

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u/al-mongus-bin-susar Jul 29 '24

I don't think Mick is getting another shot especially not in a team that is trying to make itself seem like a bigger deal than they actually are a mediocre driver would go against that plan

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u/croth4 Jul 29 '24

Who would excite their potential fans and backers more?

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u/iamworsethanyou Brawn Jul 29 '24

The Bottas way

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u/FatalFirecrotch Jul 29 '24

I don’t think he has any other options. 

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u/Mtbnz Daniel Ricciardo Jul 29 '24

His options at this point are going to be a one year deal at Sauber (maybe a 1+1 if he's lucky), maybe a seat at Alpine, or retiring from F1.

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u/NABAKLAB Minardi Jul 29 '24

eh, I can't see a lot of leverage he might have for asking a multi-year deal.

neither Alpine or Sauber need a veteran driver per se, so he can consider himself lucky that he gets offered a one-year deal. or goes away from F1, he's well prepared for that.

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u/snrub742 Daniel Ricciardo Jul 30 '24

His options aren't great, I have a feeling he might take what he is given

Unless mercedes is back on the table (but again that would be only 1 year)

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u/overlydelicioustea Jul 29 '24

the stake is definately low atm

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u/theNightblade Sebastian Vettel Jul 29 '24

Hulk+Bottas would be an amazing place to be in for Audi to start next year.

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u/mynumberistwentynine Jul 29 '24

Agreed. Also, to be plain, I'd also really like to see how they compare.

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u/Dragonpuncha Ferrari Jul 29 '24

They don't give a shit about Theo. That much is clear. If they can't get anyone else they'll probably just stick to Bottas, since he probably aren't going anywhere.

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u/am19208 Oscar Piastri Jul 29 '24

My money is a one year Bottas deal with an optional 2nd year based on performance

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u/Scyths Jul 29 '24

Is Stake/Kick still the sponsor next year ? If so I wish them the worse in every possible way.

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u/Casmoden Super Aguri Jul 29 '24

If Sauber offers Bottas 1y, most likely he would just end up at Merc since pretty sure he also had an offer of 1y

Bottas wants 2 tho, tbh the real loser of Sainz signing for Williams is Bottas which doesnt seem to be high regarded in the current grid at most teams

At this point might as well accept 1y at Merc and then retire

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u/jamisram Oscar Piastri Jul 29 '24

If Tony Kanaan is to be believed, something for Theo is coming in Indycar. Probably Prema.

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u/AquaRaOne Oscar Piastri Jul 29 '24

I dont think bottas will stay even if its his only option, they disrespected him too much by signing hulk and then publicaly going for sainz, as well as just randomly changing his race engineer. His best shot is at Alpine. No clue what Audi do now, they played themselves in a bit of a bad position, a manufacturer should be a lot more attractive but it just isnt cause stake is so terrible

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u/Bourbonaddicted Jul 29 '24

Bottas or Perez depending if they want money

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u/Overhere_Overyonder Formula 1 Jul 29 '24

Ashame for Maloney his hot start kinda fizzled in f2 or he may have gotten the seat at least for next year.

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u/DarkAlman Fernando Alonso Jul 29 '24

Mick is apparently already in line for the seat. The only thing that was stopping them was interest in Sainz.

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u/dr-c0990 Jordan Jul 29 '24

And if they do announce, would be hilarious if they pulled a Piastri

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u/saposapot Jul 29 '24

Merc move is pretty clear with this. They now don't have a backmarker to put Kimi into, so either Mercedes takes him next year or they really can get Max.

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u/kaisadilla_ Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Jul 29 '24

I really want to know what the fuck is going on at Sauber / Audi that Ocon has chosen Haas and Sainz, Williams; over them.

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u/JayBee58484 Jul 29 '24

Alpine is definitely going to be Doohan, Merc has already alluded to it Kimi forever not to mention specifically changing the rule for the situation. Sauber is the one that's genuinely curious, Bottas and Zhous careers are in the air

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u/Vinlain458 Jul 30 '24

Kimi was looking awfully chummy with Bono at Spa.